Principles upon the Path of Hijrah (1/3)

First, it is upon the muhajir to await his reward from Allah, and to make his intention purely to seek Allah’s Pleasure, and that he migrates to give victory to his religion, as well as to escape from fitnah. He must not migrate because he expects to find provision and comfort in a given land, as the purpose of hijrah is not seeking provision. Ibn Kathir mentioned in his explanation of the Saying of Allah:

{“He who migrates in the Path of Allah will find on Earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by.”}[1]

…that Qatadah said: “Meaning, he goes from misguidance to guidance, and from poverty to wealth.” Therefore, the verse serves to alleviate the various expected fears of the one migrating while it turns towards the potential dangers of hijrah, so that he would not be fooled into thinking that he will fulfill his sweet hopes without first experiencing some hardships in the path of the Da’wah. Due to this, the verse was capped with:

{“…and whosoever leaves his home as a migrant to Allah and His Messenger and death overtakes him, his reward is then surely incumbent upon Allah, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”}[2]

Therefore, death is also expected.

Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Hasan said in ‘ad-Durar as-Saniyyah’: “…even though it is the case that most of those who embark on hijrah end up in a position of safety, honor, establishment, and victory, just as happened with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his followers, past and present. And with it, Jihad is no doubt established, the Word of Allah is raised uppermost, and obedience to Allah is facilitated upon the Earth.

And the benefits of hijrah in this world are more than can be counted, as Allah – the Exalted – Said:

{“And for those who migrated for the sake of Allah after suffering oppression, We will certainly give them good residence in this world. But, indeed the reward of the Hereafter will be greater, if they only knew!”}[3]

Therefore, it is a must to point this out so that there is not a repeat of what happened with many of the Muslims in Algeria and Morocco, when they were called to make hijrah by their brothers making Jihad, and they were promised provision and comfortable living. When they did not find any of what they were promised – rather, they found themselves in worse conditions that those they had migrated from – their tongues spoke words that one fears for them over; words that gave you a feeling of their bad assumptions about Allah – Exalted is Allah, high above deficiencies and bad assumptions.

Second: one must be absolutely sure about the condition of a land being Dar al-Kufr or Dar al-Harb.

Here, we cannot obligate hijrah upon the Muslims from a land which is considered to be Dar Murakkabah[4] except if he is unable to openly practice his religion in it, as Ibn Taymiyyah was asked the following questions about the land of Mardin[5]:

a) Is it Dar al-Harb, or a land of peace?

b) Is it obligatory upon the Muslim who lives in it to migrate to the lands of Islam, or not?

c) If it is obligatory upon him to migrate, and he does not do so, and additionally aids the enemies of the Muslims with his self and wealth – is he a sinner in this?

d) Are those who accuse him of nifaq and insult him sinners, or not?

Ibn Taymiyyah answered:

“Praise be to Allah, the blood and wealth of the Muslims is sacred wherever they are, whether that is in Mardin or otherwise. Assisting those who have rebelled against the Shari’ah of Islam is forbidden, whether that is in Mardin or otherwise. The one who lives there, if he is unable to openly practice his religion, must make hijrah. Otherwise (if he is able to openly practice his religion), it is simply mustahabb, and it is not obligatory upon him. Assisting the enemies of the Muslims with one’s wealth or self is forbidden for them, and it is obligatory upon them to refrain from doing so, by any means necessary. If they are unable to do this except by way of hijrah, it becomes obligatory upon each of them. It is not allowed to insult them as a group and accuse them of nifaq, as insulting and accusing of nifaq is reserved for the specific people described in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and this can include some of the people of Mardin, as well as other than the people of Mardin.

As for its status as either Dar al-Harb or a land of peace: it is a Dar Murakkabah, as it contains elements of both. It is not a land that has submitted, such that the laws of Islam are implemented upon it. Likewise, it is not Dar al-Harb, whose inhabitants are disbelievers.

Rather, it is a third category, in which the Muslim is treated as he deserves to be treated, and the one who rebels against the Shari’ah of Islam is fought and treated as he deserves to be treated.”

In light of this aforementioned situation, one can conclude that it is mustahabb – not obligatory – to make hijrah from a given place if one can openly practice his religion in that place, so that we do not go and accuse others of sin without clear, authentic proof. If he is unable to practice his religion, hijrah is an obligation upon him, without a doubt.

Thirdly, what is obligatory for the scholar might not be obligatory for the layman, and what is obligatory for the one upon whose shoulders the interests of the Da’wah rest might not be obligatory for other than him, and what is necessary for an obligation to be fulfilled is itself an obligation. Therefore, the obligation of hijrah upon groups (jama’at) is not like its obligation upon individuals, and its obligation upon those individuals whose hijrah will lead to a benefit for Islam is not like its obligation upon those individuals whose Hijrah will simply lead to tiredness and exhaustion, as well as the burdening of others with them. One should refer to the Shar’i proofs, not faith-inspired emotions, as the issue is one of Din and Shar’.

Fourth, one should not ignore the categorization that was mentioned by Ibn Qudamah in ‘al-Mughni,’ where he said: “The one for whom hijrah is mustahabb – not obligatory – is one who is able to make hijrah, yet, he is able to openly practice his religion in Dar al-Kufr. So, it is preferred for him to make hijrah, due to what that would entail of his being able to wage Jihad against them, swell and assist the Muslim populations, and reduce the populations of the disbelievers, refrain from mixing with them, and observing their evil while being amongst them. However, it would still not be obligatory for him, and this is due to his ability to fulfill the obligations of his religion without needing to make hijrah, as al-‘Abbas – the uncle of the Prophet (peace be upon him) – was living in Makkah, even though he was a Muslim!” (end of Ibn Qudamah’s words).

So, one should keep this in mind in order to not be harsh against those who do not see hijrah as being obligatory in such a case, and see it as being simply mustahabb.

(Continued)